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– Landing confirmed! Perseverance is safe on the surface of Mars, ready to begin the search for prehistoric life, NASA’s Swati Mohan said when the first signs arrived.
Shortly after the announcement that the landing was successful, the first images arrived from the surface of Mars. They showed a plain with sand and rocks, and since the chamber still had a protective cover, they were quite cloudy.
The slowdown of the Martian atmosphere and landing on the planet was considered the most critical phase of a very demanding journey.
The chosen landing zone, Jezero Crater, was also very challenging, with lots of obstacles and rough terrain. However, this is where researchers should look for signs of ancient life. In a period of three to four billion years, there was a lake here, at the same time that life was emerging on earth.
Big emotion
The descent and landing took a total of approximately 7 minutes, after a journey from Earth that has lasted 7 months. The whole process was carried out without intervention from the ground, the ship’s own systems were in control all the time.
Great excitement was associated with the landing, even though a similar landing system was used in August 2012, when NASA’s previous Mars robot, the Curiosity rover, landed on the red planet. However, the perseverance is greater and more advanced.
A few minutes before the ship reached the thin Martian atmosphere, the landing craft separated from the stage that contained fuel tanks, radio equipment, and solar panels for use during the long journey from Earth.
The landing craft entered the atmosphere at a speed of about 20,000 kilometers per hour. During the violent deceleration, the temperature in the heat shield rose to around 1,300 degrees.
When the speed dropped to about 1,600 kilometers per hour, a parachute was fired. However, it was not slowed down enough to bring the robot down completely, even an advanced system had to be used for that.
Norwegian characteristic
About 20 seconds after the parachute was fired, the heat shield was disconnected and the payload itself, the Mars Perseverance robot, was out in the open for the first time. A rocket-powered platform brought the robot the last piece to the surface. From a height of about 20 meters it was hoisted with cables.
Only 11 minutes after the landing had been made, the signs came that everything had gone well.
The Norwegian element in the project is great. One of the seven scientific instruments on board is the Rimfax georadar, developed in Norway. You must look down to the bedrock and look for traces of the water that once floated to the surface. The instrument has been developed by the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI), the Norwegian Space Center and several Norwegian companies.
– This is a landmark week in Norwegian space history and technology, says FFI Director John-Mikal Størdal.
Scientists in NASA’s control room in Pasadena were able to unleash jubilation after news of a successful landing on Mars arrived on Thursday. Photo: Bill Ingalls / Nasa via AP / NTB
Radar operations will be monitored from a control room in Kjeller on the outskirts of Oslo. The radar measurement is expected to begin two weeks after landing.
Helicopter
There is also a remote-controlled helicopter on board that will be operated by Norwegian Håvard Fjær Grip, who works at NASA. This is the first time that a drone of this type has been tried to fly on another planet. If it is successful, it will open up many opportunities.
– You can, among other things, start using helicopters to recognize areas in search of land craft that need information on where to drive and find out which areas are most interesting to study. It’s about seeing the possibilities and opening new doors, Grip tells NTB.
The helicopter weighs 1.8 kilograms and has two 1.2 meter rotors. They have to rotate much faster than usual on Earth, since the atmosphere is very thin.
However, before the helicopter can be tested, other systems must be verified and tested on the Mars robot. It will take several weeks.
Will collect samples
The Rover Perseverance will circulate around the Jezero crater, which has a diameter of about 49 kilometers, and will collect at least 20 samples in a Mars year, which corresponds to about 687 Earth days.
The samples are then left on Mars until they are collected by a subsequent expedition and sent back to our planet for analysis. This is expected to happen in 2031.
Recently, the Amal probe developed in the United Arab Emirates reached Mars and entered orbit around the planet. So did the Chinese Tianwen-1, which also has a landing probe on board to be sent to the surface at a later date.
Including these three space probes, there are now a total of eight operational space probes in orbit around Mars and two rovers on the planet’s surface.
